Hidden
by littlemisslibrarian
Summary: Twolegs are planning to destroy the forest, and only Calypso, a runaway Twoleg girl who lived in the sun-drown Twolegplace, can save them. Will she succeed? Will the Clans accept help from a Twoleg? Rated T for violence. Takes place after P.O.T. arc
1. Chapter 1: The Prophecy

Calypso quietly descended the creaky steps, trying not to wake her father, who had just come home drunk. Again. But his snores were so deafening she didn't have to be that careful. A good thing too. Whenever he comes home drunk, he hates the very sight of her and beats her up. Maybe it's because she was adopted. Mom is barren, so they turned to adoption. But the adoption agency she came from wasn't very reliable. They forgot to mention one little detail: Calypso has autism. And her parents don't have the patience for an autistic child. Or any child, for that matter.

Calypso had decided to run away. She didn't bring anything, except a Bible. Calypso had wandered away one day and had gotten lost in the forest, where she learned to survive. So material things weren't really that important. And now she had made it past the stairs and opened the equally creaky door very slowly. She closed it gently behind her, tiptoed off the porch, and bolted.

Calypso ran until her legs couldn't carry her anymore. They took her to a park, where she curled up on a bench. She mentally kicked herself for not thinking of where to go from here. But something in her heart was tugging her toward the forest. She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, hoping nobody from school would see her. She knew they would make up a cruel joke about her sleeping outside.

Not that she would be surprised. She was always called many things in school; sped, insane, flappy, stupid. Her drowsy mind drifted to her cat friends. She spent more time around cats than people, because she thought they couldn't talk so they couldn't make fun of her. However, she slowly came to understand their language and even began speaking with them. Then her mind grew blank as she fell into a deep sleep.

Her dreams took her to a beautiful pool that reflected the night sky as if a piece of it fell at her feet. A cat, slightly transparent and with stars in her fur, appeared.

"Calypso," she said, "I am Spottedleaf, the ancestor of a Clan of cats that lives in a nearby forest. I have been sent by these ancestors, known as StarClan, to tell you that they need your help." Then her voice had a stronger, slightly echoey feel to it as she said:

_Dark times are coming, and the one who is hidden will save all._

Calypso blinked in confusion, but just as she was going to ask what this strange verse meant the cat faded out of sight. Calypso's eyes snapped open when sunlight shone on her eyelids. It was morning. She had to get moving before someone saw her. She had wandered away from home many times before, and the police were becoming suspicious, even though she was doing nothing wrong.

So she ran to the edge of town, ignoring the annoying dogs. The welcoming shade of trees beckoned her, offering relief from the hot England summer. She went into the forest and sat on a mossy rock, listening to the birdsong and thankful that she was away from her parents and peers.

* * *

Jayfeather woke up with a start. Spottedleaf had just appeared to him with a strange prophecy. He knew he had to talk to Firestar about it. Jayfeather ran to Firestar's den. He waved his tail at Firestar, who was just emerging from his den. Firestar greeted Jayfeather cheerfully.

"Hi, Jayfeather! What brings you here?

"Firestar," Jayfeather began, "I have received a prophecy from StarClan. They say that _dark times are coming, and the one who is hidden will save all_."

"Dark times, eh? They can't be much worse than the dark times we've been having."

"Well if StarClan are making a prophecy about this dark future, it must be worse."

There was a moment of silence as the two toms thought about the prophecy. Jayfeather though out loud. "What could hidden mean? A secret? A power? A rogue who has been lurking around?"

They thought about this for a long time, then Firestar gave his pelt a shake.

"Well I have to sort out the patrols with Brambleclaw. See you later." Then he bounded outside, where Brambleclaw was waiting impatiently.


	2. Chapter 2: Twoleg Troubles

Calypso jumped when she heard a growl. Two foxes circled the rock she was sitting on. They were foaming at the mouth and their eyes had an insane look. _Crap. I'm trapped by rabid foxes_, she thought. Aloud, she said, "Nice foxes… Good foxes…" and looked around for a way to escape. If she could only jump into those trees, but she wasn't a squirrel and the trees were too far away. One fox, with a red pelt and black paws and a deep scar on his muzzle, leaped at her. Calypso screamed and flew off the rock, running through the forest with the foxes on her heels.

She tripped over a tree root and heard a sickening crack. Her ankle was broken. And the foxes were closing in. Calypso closed her eyes and prepared to feel teeth in her throat. She opened them again when she heard a new, different growl. A badger was lumbering toward her. _Great. Now I'm gonna be a meal for two species._ But the badger just stood over her… and _barked!_ Like a fox! The two foxes looked like they had seen the badger before-maybe that's why one had a scar-but they kept advancing. The rabies was making them insane.

The badger charged, leaping over Calypso and landing on a fox. The two creatures snarled and rolled on the ground, and Calypso turned away. She didn't want to see violence, but she could hear the evil snarls and painful yelps. Then there was a scream and the fox that was fighting the badger lay limply on the ground. The other fox advanced, and they started fighting again. Calypso was impressed at the badger's stamina, but it looked like she was tiring. The young girl looked around for a weapon, wishing she had claws, and found a sharp stick with a thorn vine wrapped around it. Gingerly picking it up and avoiding the thorns, she rose to her feet, only to sit down more quickly as she grew lightheaded with pain. She had forgotten about her ankle.

But Calypso wouldn't allow the poor badger to be killed or to catch rabies. She crawled toward the fight and swung the stick with all her might. She brought it down hard on the fox's head, which stunned the fox long enough for the badger to finish it off. Calypso turned away, not wanting to see even more violence. Then she looked back as the badger _spoke_ to her!

"Thank you, little human. You have saved my life."

"Er, you're welcome? But you saved my life, too. So I should be thanking you. Hey, wait a minute! How do you know English?" Calypso stammered in amazement.

"Travel far I have, many languages I learn," the badger answered

"So that's how you learned to speak fox, too? Amazing! By the way, do you have a name?"

"Midnight. And I come with message."

"Is it a prophecy?" Calypso

"Yes. You know?"

"A StarClan cat visited me in my dreams, so yes I do know. But how do I get there, and how am I going to save the forest?"

"To get there go through mountains. May meet other cats there, they not harm. Forest near farm and lake. How you save forest, find out when you get there."

"Thanks so much, Midnight! How can I ever repay you?"

"No need repay. You save friends of mine, that enough."

Calypso thanked Midnight again as the old badger lumbered back to her den near the ocean. She wondered how she was going to get to the mountain with a broken ankle. _I need a crutch. A stick will have to do._ So she looked around for a thick branch, preferably forked. Bingo! There was a stick that was a little taller than she needed, but it had a fork and seemed strong enough to lean on.

She dragged it toward her and stood it up. She walked her hands up and stood on her good foot. Then she tucked the makeshift crutch under her arm and hobbled off, falling more than once as she got used to it. It was slow progress, but at least it was progress. And she fell less often as she got practice. But her ankle throbbed with intense pain and she knew she needed a splint. There were no plants or plant parts that would be useful here, so she just had to be very careful with how she walked.

* * *

Jayfeather went through a mental list of all the cats he knew. _Squirrelflight had a secret, but it's been revealed. Lionblaze has nothing to hide, I think. I would know. I can read minds..._

"Jayfeather! Jayfeather!" An alarmed cat's voice interrupted his thoughts. Brambleclaw bolted into the medicine cat's den. "Twolegs have poisoned the river between us and ShadowClan! All the plants around it are dead, including some herbs! And there are really big monsters farther up the Thunderpath! What could it be?"

Jayfeather listened to this and tried to remain calm. The herb stock was running low, and this wasn't helping. And the big monsters on the abandoned Thunderpath were disturbing, too.

"Let me see the river."

"Fine. Let's hurry!"

"Lead the way," Jayfeather said to the border patrol. Brambleclaw was in the front, followed by Thornclaw and Foxpaw, and Jayfeather. They reached the river in no time, and the medicine cat recoiled at the foul smell coming from the water. Brambleclaw described the river to Jayfeather.

"There is dark liquid in it that reflects the sunlight in rainbows. It is covering the top of the water, but it never goes below. So it must be lighter than water."

Jayfeather nodded. "It smells like monsters. Disgusting!"

They returned to camp, where Firestar met them at the entrance.

"I'm gonna bring this up at the Gathering tonight. Jayfeather and the patrol, would you come?"

"Of course," Brambleclaw answered. The others nodded in agreement. Firestar padded off to the side to talk to Brambleclaw about something, and the rest of the cats went back to their duties. Word of the river had apparently already spread around camp. By sunset, everyone was murmering with worry. Firestar called a Clan meeting.

"Will all cats old enough to catch their own prey please join here beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" He waited until every cat assembled. Then he said, "You all probably have heard of this disturbing Twoleg activity. But there is nothing we can do about it. The Twolegs will soon leave and take their foul monsters with them. There is nothing here that they can possibly want. But I will bring this up at the Gathering in case the other Clans have had Twoleg problems." Then he leaped off the Highledge and the cats who were going to the Gathering followed him to the island.

Jayfeather listened as Firestar described the Twoleg liquid. There was a nod of understanding from Blackstar. He said that he had some Twoleg problems too. The Twoleg liquid had been ingested by their prey, and several cats have gotten sick. But, he hastened to say that most cats were healthy and strong enough to fight off anything, and that the impact wasn't bad. Indeed, Blackstar looked healthy still. His ribs showed a little bit, but most of the ShadowClan cats looked healthy. The Twolegs obviously haven't affected ThunderClan or ShadowClan too much. Yet. Then Onestar spoke.

"We have had some Twoleg issues. They are digging in a part of the territory that we barely use. They have the huge monsters that you mentioned, Firestar, with one big long paw in the front with claws pointing toward the sky. It scoops up earth and dumps it into the back of another monster. But we have experienced no prey shortage or poison."

Then it was RiverClan's turn. Leopardstar stood up. "RiverClan has had no trouble with Twolegs, but the noise from Twolegs nearby has actually frightened more prey into our territory."

Jayfeather twitched his ears. Interesting. But he knew that soon Twoleg monsters would invade RiverClan. And they would start causing more problems in the other three Clans. _StarClan, I now know what you meant by dark times. Oh, if only I knew who the hidden one is._


	3. Chapter 3: Journey To The Mountains

Calypso looked back at how far she had gone. _Pitiful_, she thought. But she was too tired to continue. So she lay down on some pine needles, hoping there were no bugs. Calypso rested her bad ankle on a rock, wishing again that she had a splint. The sun sank, tinting everything red. The shock of the eventful day suddenly came to her, and she flapped her hands nervously. She was glad that trees couldn't laugh like her classmates. Every time she grew nervous, she flapped her hands to calm down. Everyone seemed to think it was weird, and they laughed when she did it. This made her do it more. But here in the wilderness, she was free from the taunts of her classmates.

Calypso finally fell into a fitful sleep, afraid to shift positions due to her ankle. Her dreams were filled with suffering cats, angry parents, and taunting students. The story of her life. And this story was about to get a bit more interesting.

* * *

Calypso's parents called the police. They said that they couldn't find a trace of her. They started forming a search and rescue party that would leave in the morning. Calypso's mom's forehead was creased with worry and anger. _When my daughter gets home, she's gonna be in so much trouble! She'll never see the light of day again!_

The next day, Calypso woke up as the sun was just peeking out over the mountains where she was heading. She slowly got to her feet-er, foot-and heard her stomach rumble. _Food. Where can I find food?_ Calypso looked around for berries or an edible plant. To her delight, she found a small bush of wild blackberries. She ate them quickly, then set off. They weren't much, but it was better than starving to death. And she needed her strength, because those mountains looked treacherous.

* * *

Jayfeather snarled in frustration. The Twolegs had gone even farther into their territory, and they had destroyed many herbs. Jayfeather was going to have to either ask the other Clans for help, or look outside the territory. He looked once more at the pitiful pile of herbs, and grew very worried. Sandstorm had gotten sick from a poisoned mouse, and he was out of yarrow. "Fox dung!" he yowled. He could feel Sandstorm's eyes on him.

"Watch your mouth, Jayfeather," she said sharply. Jayfeather sighed.

"Just go…get something to eat, will you?"

"I can't eat. My stomach hurts too much and I have a terrible taste in my mouth. It feels like I licked a monster!"

"Right." Jayfeather felt really bad for forgetting. He could feel Sandstorm's distress, but also pity for him. "I'll have to go past our territory to find yarrow. Do you think you can stay here by yourself for a day or two?"

"Couldn't you just ask Brightheart to take over? She helped Leafpool and Cinderpelt in the past."

Jayfeather lashed his tail, more angry at himself than Sandstorm. "I didn't think of that. Okay, I'll do that." _Some medicine cat you are! What will you mess up next? Better be careful, or you'll give Sandstorm nightshade instead of yarrow! _

Jayfeather ran out of the den and right into Firestar. After a quick and awkward apology, he asked Firestar's permission to go outside the territory.

"Are things that bad that you have to go outside the territory just to find yarrow?"

"Yes. It's leaf-fall, and the Twolegs are not helping. The only yarrow I can find is too dried out to use."

"Very well. But be careful, and I'm going to send a warrior with you." Jayfeather suppressed a snarl. Again, he was getting special treatment because he was blind. But he obeyed his leader and waited impatiently until he heard two sets of pawsteps approaching him. He recognized Spiderleg's gait because of his unusually long legs, even before he scented him.

"Spiderleg will go with you. Do you need traveling herbs?"

"No. I'd rather not waste any herbs right now."

"Very well. Be careful out there."

Jayfeather and Spiderleg padded out of camp. Jayfeather was aware of his Clanmates' curious gazes. Suddenly, he stopped.

"Brightheart! I almost forgot! Will you take over my position as medicine cat while I'm gone?" he yelled over his shoulder.

"Not a problem," Brightheart called back. Then the two young cats were off.


	4. Chapter 4: Desperate Times

Calypso was so close to the mountains she wanted to put down her crutch and run. But she knew that would be incredibly stupid. Fighting the urge to stop and flap her hands when every second could be a life or death matter for a whole Clan of cats, she pressed on, reaching the mountains around noon. Then suddenly, to the young girl's dismay, she heard dogs barking and people shouting. A search party. _Crap. How am I gonna get away from them?_ She couldn't hide, because the dogs could follow her scent. There were no trees. She was gonna have to outrun them and lose them in the mountains. Taking a deep breath, she half-ran, half-hobbled up the treacherous slope.

The sound of clattering stones alerted the search party. They ran after Calypso, who was having a very hard time climbing the stones. She gritted her teeth as her ankle hit rock after rock. _At this rate I'm gonna have to use my crutch for life! _But the search and rescue dogs were so close she could feel their hot breath on her feet. A man grabbed her ankle, but Calypso whacked him on the head with her crutch. Startled, he fell down and took out the whole group. They all fell in a tangle of limbs at the bottom of the slope while Calypso sat on a rock and wondered what she was going to do now.

* * *

Calypso's father clenched his fists. He turned to his wife.

"No. More. Kids. Ever." Calypso's mother looked startled when she noticed the vein on his forehead was bulging. That only happens when he's at his angriest.

"Okay. But what are we going to do about Calypso? This isn't another little walk. She's seriously running away."

"I know that! What are you waiting for? Let's go after her!" The patrol looked at him like he had grown two heads. They had all suffered various injuries. The chief of police, whom Calypso had hit on the head, surveyed the scene. One man had twisted his ankle badly. Another broke his toe. Still another had several bruises and cuts that needed to be tended to. The dogs were whimpering and licking each other's wounds.

"It doesn't look like we're gonna catch Calypso today. I'm gonna take everyone to the hospital, including you guys. You two seem to have some nice bruises. And don't think I don't see you limping, young lady!"

Calypso's parents groaned and got in the back of a car parked nearby. The chief assured them that tomorrow they would use mountain bikes and surround the runaway girl, instead of chasing her. And that since she had hit a policeman on the head, she would be in big trouble.

* * *

Calypso sighed with relief when the cars drove away. She got up painfully and continued her trek up the slope. When she finally reached the snow-dusted summit, the view took her breath away. The town looked so tiny, and she could see the ocean. A whale sprayed water out of its blowhole in the distance. She smiled. Overcome with exhaustion, Calypso sat down and read the Bible. She thanked God for this world. Calypso flapped her hands, this time out of sheer joy. Then she noticed the larger forest in the distance and felt a tug in her heart. She remembered the prophecy and got up with a sigh. She had a long trek ahead of her.

* * *

Jayfeather and Spiderleg passed the abandoned Twoleg den and scented the air. They could smell the biting cold in the air, the dying plants, some catmint-Jayfeather hurriedly collected it, but no yarrow. So they young toms continued their journey through the forest beyond their territory. Suddenly, there was a deafening high-pitched sound. It sounded like a deranged bird call. Spiderleg told Jayfeather to follow him, and the warrior led the medicine cat up a tree. There was a loud buzz, then a sickening crack and a crash as a tree fell down onto a very scary-looking Twoleg contraption.

"What in StarClan's name are they doing to that tree?" Spiderleg wondered out loud. Jayfeather shuddered as the loud Twoleg noises reached his more sensitive ears. They were hurting Spiderleg's ears too, and he wanted to stuff leaves in them, but he knew that would be mouse-brained. The toms watched-and listened-in shock as the long, giant monster inched away with the dead tree. Then the Twolegs started on the next one.

Spiderleg couldn't bear to watch any longer. "COME ON! LET'S GET OUT OF HERE," he yowled over the noise. Jayfeather flinched, then nodded. They bolted out of the tree just as the Twolegs were preparing to cut it down. The toms ran as far as their frightened paws could carry them. Jayfeather blundered into Spiderleg when the warrior stopped. He smelled the welcoming bitter scent of yarrow. Jayfeather plucked most of the pitifully small plant, leaving some to grow in case the shortage continued.

"Ret's ro," Jayfeather mumbled around a mouthful of yarrow. Despite the very grim situation, Spiderleg let out a _mrrow _of amusement. "Yeah. Let's go." The toms ran back to camp, too distressed to feel tired.

When they got back, Spiderleg reported what he saw to Firestar. The old leader nodded slowly. His eyes were troubled. A crowd was forming. Firestar summoned the few cats who weren't already gathered. Jayfeather slipped away to give yarrow to Sandstorm. To his dismay, the stench of sickness was even stronger. The poison must already be in her blood! Not knowing what else to do and feeling extremely useless, he gave Sandstorm the yarrow. She gagged and threw up a small amount of the Twoleg liquid. _At least it's something_, Jayfeather thought. But the rest of the poison would take her life if he didn't find a cure. Luckily, tonight was the half moon. He could ask his medicine cat ancestors or the other medicine cats for help. _I hope the hidden one shows himself soon! StarClan, please don't let Sandstorm die!_


	5. Chapter 5: Bad News

**(Guys, don't be afraid to review! I won't bite! Only if you're fried chicken! :3)**

Calypso got up and continued hiking through the mountain. The paths were getting narrower and narrower, and she began to grow nervous. Then her crutch landed on empty air, and Calypso teetered dangerously off balance. Her stomach lurched, and her shaking hands couldn't find anything to grip. Thankfully, she felt a small rock and grabbed it. She regained her footing and proceeded down the treacherous slope.

The young girl heard a rumbling up ahead, and her mind filled with images of huge boulders coming down at her, crushing her. But there were no rocks, though the rumbling continued. She stopped and lifted her head slowly, not wanting to lose her balance. Up ahead was a big waterfall, with a cave behind it. _That's kinda cool,_ Calypso thought. She approached it, gritting her teeth as the waterfall's roar battered her eardrums. To her amazement, there were_ cats_ in this cave!

She remembered Midnight saying something about peaceful cats who live in the mountains. These must be the ones. The cats suddenly noticed her and retreated to several smaller caves. Calypso felt terrible for frightening them.

"Come on out! I won't hurt you," she called in cat language. A lean brown cat with gray around his muzzle slowly came out.

"How do you know our language, Twoleg?" the tom asked in awe.

"No other humans-er, Twolegs will talk to me, so I learned to speak to cats. Do you know the way to the forest?"

"I don't, but I know some cats who do. Why do you want to go to the forest?"

"The cats there need my help. Their ancestors told me."

"Alright. Talon! Night! Come out here!"

Two younger cats slunk out of the shadows. They stood a bit behind their leader, staring at Calypso. Their leader explained her intentions to them, and they nodded slowly. Their expressions went from scared to baffled. Finally, the she-cat spoke up.

"Follow us. We will show you where to go. We know the mountains well, and can show you the safest routes," she meowed, glancing at Calypso's ankle. The leader seemed to notice it too.  
"Do you need any herbs?"

"Uh, no. I'm fine," Calypso stammered.

"Very well. But you do need a splint. It would be very bad if your paw healed crooked."

Calypso stifled a giggle. _It's a foot, not a paw, _she thought. But she knew that while she knew the cats' language, they didn't know hers.

"I don't want to waste your time. Maybe we should get going?"

The three cats nodded, and Calypso followed the cats. She thought she was going to have to slow down because she was bigger, but their agile limbs made her feel like a clumsy oaf. The two cats led her to the edge of their territory.

Here, Calypso could see the forest. All she had to do was go down the mountain and across a road. She also saw why she was needed. There were several large construction vehicles tearing through the land. It looked like they were trying to put in a building. As much as she wanted to run down there and help the Clans, it was nighttime and she needed to rest. So she thanked the two cats and found a sheltered area under a rock. There, she fell asleep surprisingly easily on the cold stone.

Jayfeather had healed Sandstorm, but leaf-bare was coming and greencough was sure to be a big problem later on. He waited in a clearing for the other medicine cats so they could all go to the Moonpool. When they all arrived, the stress and worry in the atmosphere nearly overwhelmed Jayfeather. Littlecloud sighed.

"Do any of you have any yarrow? I'm all out, and those Twolegs and their stupid monsters have crushed all the yarrow in our territory. At least every cat has learned their lesson and won't eat funny-smelling prey anymore. There is less sickness."

All of the medicine cats said no, except for Barkface, who was quick to add that he wouldn't give another Clan an herb that was so rare nowadays. Littlecloud seemed very disappointed, but he just said, "Okay. Let's get a move on. We're wasting moonlight." The cats went to the Moonpool.

Jayfeather touched his nose to the cold water in the Moonpool and opened his eyes to see Spottedleaf. Before he could ask her what the prophecy meant, she covered his mouth with her tail.

"The hidden one will be revealed soon. Be patient, Jayfeather."

_Why doesn't StarClan just tell me things straight out? Why do they have to make everything so complicated?_ Jayfeather thought angrily.

"You will learn when it's your time to join our ranks," Spottedleaf answered. Jayfeather narrowed his eyes, extremely annoyed at Spottedleaf and StarClan in general for being so secretive.

"But I will tell you that what is coming is something that even StarClan cannot stop. But stay faithful. We will always watch over you."

Jayfeather opened his eyes to darkness and dug his claws into the ground in frustration.

"That was no help at all!"

The other cats agreed. They all had had similar dreams. The atmosphere was all frustration and hopelessness.

Calypso woke up and hurried down the slope. Well, as fast as one can go on crutches. But she arrived at the road by noon. Of course, she had stopped to eat berries on the way. But her stomach still growled. There wasn't much food, and she really didn't want to hunt. Just the thought of killing and eating animals made her sick. It had been three days now that she had survived on handfuls of berries. She caught her breath and started crossing the road.

Just then, a car sped toward her, blaring its horn. Calypso knew she couldn't get away from it without running, and that was out of the question, so she prayed that the driver had enough sense to stop. There was a screech of brakes followed by a string of foul language. Calypso sighed and hobbled off. The driver shook his fist at her and drove away, mumbling under his breath.

Calypso reached the farm, and smiled when she saw horses. She loved cats, but horses were her favorite animal. She cheerfully waved at them, and they whinnied and stamped their feet. Still smiling, Calypso went around the barn and noticed a sign saying "Littlepine Sailing Center and Hareview Campground Straight Ahead." There was another sign next to it that said "Future Site of the Quarry Museum and Nature Center."

"That's not good," Calypso said to herself.


	6. Chapter 6: EVACUATE!

There was an extremely loud chirping that seemed a bit too close to camp. Firestar woke up, a haunted look in his eyes.

"Dark times. These are dark times. And the hidden one has not come."

Sandstorm bounded up the Highledge and cuffed Firestar on the ear.

"SNAP OUT OF IT! TWOLEGS ARE CUTTING DOWN OUR TREES! THEY'LL REACH CAMP SOON!"

Firestar snarled. "Do you really have to shout in my ear?"  
"Well you were in a daze, and I didn't know how detached from reality you were."

"Hey! I'm not going crazy," Firestar said, a little angrier than he had intended. Sandstorm sniffed with disdain and jumped down. Firestar padded out of his den.

"Cats of ThunderClan, EVACUATE!" he shouted above the noise. The clearing was a mess of shrieking cats running every which way.

"IN A CALM AND ORDERLY FASION PLEASE!"

Sighing with annoyance, he jumped down to help the kits and elders. The elder's den was closest, so he went to help Mousefur and Longtail.

"Mousefur! Longtail! You need to get out of here!"

Mousefur seemed to look through Firestar to something unseen.

"It's happening again. We are all dead. You will leave the elders behind again," she mumbled in a hoarse voice.

"Mousefur, you know that's never going to happen! Come on, and help Longtail too!"

"Fine," Mousefur meowed. She flicked Longtail's ears. He was trembling with fear. He bit gently on Mousefur's tail, and followed her shakily out of the den. Firestar helped carry the kits out of the den. One by one, he put them on a tree stump by the river and told them to wait there.

Then he went back to the camp and guided the last of the cats to the entrance. Jayfeather was last. He wouldn't accept Firestar's guidance and crashed into the bramble barrier next to the entrance. If it were a different situation, Firestar would have _mrrowed_ with amusement. Now he just tensed his muzzles and pushed Jayfeather toward the entrance. The two toms ran out just as the Twolegs reached the camp. To their amazement, they didn't destroy it. They started putting up very crude fences. But they didn't stop to watch.

The toms ran back to the Clan. Firestar checked on the kits, and gasped.

"DOVEKIT!" The fluffy gray kit was nowhere to be found.

* * *

Calypso heard the sounds of construction all around her. From what she could see, the forest was getting leveled. She hobbled as fast as she could to the forest. The pine forest was filled with cats streaking toward the river. Some were carrying kits, some were guiding elders. Calypso instinctively bent down to pick up an elder who had got her paw stuck under a rock. The elder yowled a protest and slashed her. The other cats turned around and hissed, then threw themselves on her. Slashing claws attacked her legs mercilessly. They even cut her where her ankle was broken. Calypso screamed, which stunned the cats for a second.

"Stop it, cats! I'm trying to help you!"

The cats stopped, more out of shock than her command. She briefly told them how she knew their language, then they reluctantly allowed her to help them by carrying the elder across the creek. When she put the elder down gently, she turned back to Calypso and said an awkward thank you and ran away. Calypso waved awkwardly back and went back into the forest to try to help other cats evacuate.

But her legs were covered with bleeding claw marks and she was beginning to grow dizzy. Calypso collapsed into a river. The world faded to black.


	7. Chapter 7: The End

Calypso woke up. Her dark skin was streaked with red, but she was okay. She heard a high-pitched, feline voice to her right. A fluffy grey kit looked up at her with bright eyes.

"I heard you scream. Those ShadowClan cats are mean, right?"

"Yeah," Calypso said. She got up.

"Wait, you can speak cat?"

"Yes. What clan are you from," the girl asked, her voice instinctively rising as if she was talking to a human baby.

"I'm Dovekit from ThunderClan."

The kit dashed off, then stopped and looked back as if she expected Calypso to follow her. Calypso got up and followed as quietly as she could. Finally the kit stopped. A very bright orange cat, who looked aged but well-muscled and healthy, rushed up to Dovekit.

"Where have you been?"

"I found a Twoleg who can speak cat," Dovekit explained matter-of-factly. The orange cat looked up, and his tail bushed out to twice its normal size.

"WHAT?"

"Calm down," Calypso said. "I'm here to help you."

"How can you help us," the cat asked, his fur still bristled. "We're doomed."

"Twolegs are reasonable most of the time. I can try to talk them out of it. If that doesn't work, I'll help you find a new home."

"Fine. Go try."

Calypso hurried off to the construction site, following the sound of beeping machinery.

She finally reached the site, and she walked up to an orange-vested worker who was starting up a chain saw. He immediately turned it off again.

"What the hell are you doing here," he shouted. Calypso couldn't tell whether he was yelling to be heard over the noise or out of anger.

"You can't cut down this forest. Clans of feral cats live here." Calypso tried to act confident, but she just couldn't make eye contact. Making eye contact was a huge problem for her, and many people thought she was a liar when she avoided their eyes while explaining something.

"Speak up. And look at me when you're talking," the construction worker said gruffly.

"I said you can't cut down this forest. Feral cats live here, but they are very special. They live in very organized clans with a leader, and they take care of each other. They can't live in a shelter, they would go insane!"

"I would like to see these clans. If you're lying, I'll have to report you to the police."

Calypso's heart pounded. She couldn't get into more trouble with the police! So she said, "Follow me" and hoped the cats hadn't left.

Firestar heard crashing, and he saw the dark-skinned Twoleg appear. A lighter-skinned Twoleg with a bright orange pelt over a light blue upper pelt appeared behind her. Just like when the girl first appeared, warriors and queens surrounded the kits, apprentices, and elders, forming a barrier of unsheathed claws.

The male Twoleg said something in his strange language. Calypso translated.

"He says that at first he was skeptical about whether civilized cats existed, but seeing you protect the defenseless-"

"Hey," an apprentice said indignantly.

"…has proved that it is possible. He'll leave your forest alone."

Monsters howled in the distance. The girl frowned. Two Twolegs with black and blue pelts marched up. They grabbed the girl and took her to the monster, which swallowed the three of them and roared off. The other Twoleg bent down to touch Firestar, but he hissed menacingly and dashed away, leading his Clan away. The Twoleg shrugged and left.

_And thus ends the worst story I have ever written. I is ashamed. :/ I usually write better but for some reason I just can't get into this story._


End file.
